System and method for trading distinct and identifiable portions of a physical commodity

ABSTRACT

A method can include obtaining a physical commodity that is divided into one or more physical units. The method can further include storing the physical commodity in a secure vault. Additionally, a map can be utilized to subdivide each of the one or more physical units into a plurality of segments. Each of the plurality of segments can be tangible portions of the physical unit that are distinct and identifiable. Subdividing each of the one or more physical units can render the physical units unaltered. Further, the map can be utilized to assign ownership of the plurality of segments to one or more owner users. The method can additionally include receiving an instruction to transfer ownership of a particular segment of the plurality of segments from a particular owner user to a buying user, and assigning in the map ownership of the particular segment to the buying user.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of PCT International Application No.PCT/US2015/054817, filed on Oct. 9, 2015, which claims the benefit ofU.S. Provisional Application No. 62/062,188, filed on Oct. 10, 2014. Thedisclosure of each of the above applications is incorporated herein byreference in their entireties.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to commodity trading and distribution,and, more specifically, to a system and method for trading distinct andidentifiable portions of a physical commodity without altering thephysical condition of the commodity.

BACKGROUND

The background description provided herein is for the purpose ofgenerally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of thepresently named inventors, to the extent it is described in thisbackground section, as well as aspects of the description that may nototherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neitherexpressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the presentdisclosure.

Physical commodities, such as precious metals, are mainly used forfabrication, for consumption, and as a store of value. In the presentday, however, the historic functions of physical commodities as a mediumof exchange and unit of measurement of the value of goods and serviceshave become largely replaced by deposit currencies. Such depositcurrencies have certain advantages over physical commodities, e.g.,deposit currencies may be less prone to theft, easier to transport, andhave a lower risk of forgery and/or debasement. Nonetheless, someinvestors choose to own physical commodities as a hedge againstvolatility in stock markets, since over time they have produced similarreturns as major stock indices without being correlated with them, aswell as for other reasons. Thus, there is a need for a system and methodthat reduces or eliminates the disadvantages, while maintaining theadvantages, of trading and storing physical commodities.

SUMMARY

In some implementations of the present disclosure, a method oftransferring ownership of a portion of a physical commodity isdisclosed. The method can include obtaining a physical commodity that isdivided into one or more physical units. The method can further includestoring the physical commodity in a secure vault. Additionally, a mapcan be utilized to subdivide each of the one or more physical units intoa plurality of segments. Each of the plurality of segments can betangible portions of the physical unit that are distinct andidentifiable. Subdividing each of the one or more physical units canrender the physical units unaltered. Further, the map can be utilized toassign ownership of the plurality of segments to one or more ownerusers. The method can additionally include receiving an instruction totransfer ownership of a particular segment of the plurality of segmentsfrom a particular owner user to a buying user, and assigning in the mapownership of the particular segment to the buying user.

In further implementations of the present disclosure, a computing devicefor transferring ownership of a portion of a physical commodity isdisclosed. The computing device can include one or more processors and anon-transitory, computer readable medium storing instructions that, whenexecuted by the one or more processors, cause the computing device toperform operations. The operations can include utilizing a map thatsubdivides each of one or more physical units of a physical commodityinto a plurality of segments. Each of the plurality of segments can betangible portions of the physical unit that are distinct andidentifiable. Subdividing each of the one or more physical units canrender the physical units unaltered. Further, the map can be utilized toassign ownership of the plurality of segments to one or more ownerusers. The operations can further include receiving an instruction totransfer ownership of a particular segment of the plurality of segmentsfrom a particular owner user to a buying user, and assigning in the mapownership of the particular segment to the buying user.

Further areas of applicability of the present disclosure will becomeapparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It shouldbe understood that the detailed description and specific examples areintended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limitthe scope of the disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure will become more fully understood from thedetailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example system for trading distinct andidentifiable portions of a physical commodity according to someimplementations of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of an example computing device usedin conjunction with the example system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an example image of an example physical unit of a physicalcommodity according to some implementations of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is an example representation of a segment of a physical unit of aphysical commodity according to some implementations of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 5 is an example map that subdivides each of one or more physicalunits of a physical commodity into a plurality of segments according tosome implementations of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of an example method for transferring ownershipof a segment of a physical unit of a physical commodity in accordancewith some implementations of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Metals, and especially precious metals, were among the first universallysuccessful commodities to be used as a unit of measurement, a medium ofexchange, and a store of economic value. These metals were circulatedinitially in the form of irregular pieces of metal, and later as bars orcoins that had standardized shapes, weights, and values. Standardizedunits of commodities such as metal coins had obvious benefits, whichresulted in precious metals persisting as the most popularuniversally-accepted commodities to be used as store of value. Simplyput, their relative scarcity, purity, divisibility/multipliability,portability, and resistance to damage made such currency systems moresustainable in the long term. The Lydians and the Chinese were theearliest societies to develop metal coinage, and did so independently ataround the same time in the 7th-8th centuries B.C. Their innovationcatalyzed the use of metal coinage in other societies they touched inthe Far East, Near East, and Mediterranean. As time progressed,virtually all societies came to use coinage made of gold, silver, andbase metals such as bronze for saving, exchange, and measurement.

The practice of minting precious metal bars and coins that have monetaryroles continues through today. There are, however, some disadvantageswhen trading precious metals or otherwise using precious metals as acurrency. As mentioned above, physical units of physical commodities(such as precious metals) may be more prone to theft than other options,and can be impractical to transport and use in everyday commerce.Furthermore, physical units of such commodities may be at a higher riskof forgery and/or debasement when compared to other options. Thus,businesses and other entities have attempted to provide the benefits ofowning and trading physical commodities, while eliminating or reducingthese and other disadvantages.

Precious metal exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) have emerged as a popularalternative to direct ownership of some commodities. An investor in aprecious metal ETF does not own any physical metal, but instead ownsunits of ownership in the ETF that, ultimately, owns the commodities, inthis case, precious metals. Precious metal ETFs are usually funds ortrusts that own physical precious metals and allow investors to buyshares or units in the fund or trust. In practice, the share or unitprices of such ETFs have proven to closely correlate to spot prices ofthe underlying precious metals. Thus, such ETFs have allowed investorsto gain exposure to physical commodities, while lowering the transactioncosts associated with more traditional commodity purchasing and withoutrequiring investors to buy or store actual physical bars, coins, orother physical units of a commodity.

ETFs, and especially precious metal ETFs, are perceived to have numerousdisadvantages compared to physical metals. For example, in somejurisdictions ETFs are considered securities, funds, or other financialinstruments that require anyone who sells them to the public to possessspecial licenses, which are difficult and costly to obtain and maintain.In addition, in certain jurisdictions owning some ETFs has adverse taxor other regulatory consequences on the ultimate buyer of the ETF. Asidefrom regulation and taxation, many investors shun ETFs in favor ofphysical commodity investing in order to minimize their exposure tocounterparty credit, operational, and other risks sometimes associatedwith ETFs.

Another way to invest in some commodities, namely in metals, is toutilize metal accounts, which allow investors to pay a vault company, acommodities trading company, a financial company, or other institutionto store metals on behalf of the investor. Metal accounts can beclassified into three groups: (i) allocated accounts, (ii) poolallocated accounts, and (iii) pool unallocated accounts.

In allocated accounts, investors/account holders own specific commodityunits in a commercial vault for a time and size-based fee. In somecases, the holdings of allocated accounts can be withdrawn for a fee.However, allocated accounts have numerous disadvantages. For example,administrators of allocated accounts frequently impose large minimuminvestment requirements that are dictated by the size of the smallestpractically available commodity units and by business reasons.Furthermore, in order for an investor/account holder to trade ortransfer ownership of the assets in his/her account to a third party,the third party must be willing to receive a portion of the holdings inwhatever physical condition those holdings are stored (a specific coinor group of coins, a bar or group of bars, etc.). Thus, the potentialvalues of the physical commodity to be purchased by a third partypurchaser will be dictated by the size of the discrete physical unit(s)of the physical commodity available, which places significantlimitations on account holders' ability to transfer ownership of assetsheld in a metal account to third parties.

In pool allocated accounts, investors/account holders own a specificamount of a commodity, measured in some form of unit of measurement,e.g., precious metals may be measured in ounces or grams. Institutionsthat manage such pool allocated accounts maintain a sufficient amount ofthe physical commodity to cover 100% of the outstanding claims of theaccount holders in a storage facility, such as a vault, and cannot usethe physical commodity for its own purposes (e.g., selling or leasingthe commodity). Additionally, the physical commodity may also berequired to be segregated from other items in the storage facility.Withdrawals from pool allocated accounts are typically made with cash.However, an account holder may be permitted to withdraw actual physicalcommodities, but only in the event that the value of such a withdrawalis greater than or equal to the value of the smallest discrete physicalunit of the physical commodity available. Furthermore, pool allocatedaccounts have numerous other disadvantages. In some jurisdictions, poolallocated accounts are subject to more adverse regulatory or taxtreatment than physical commodities or simple allocated accounts wherespecific commodity units are being stored for clients. In addition,because there is no strict accountability about the specific commodityunits that must be stored to back the pool allocated accounts, it iseasier for an institution that maintains such accounts to misappropriatesome portion of the commodities and to use them for its own purposes,which, if not remedied, can lead to a temporary or permanent loss ofvalue for the account holders.

A pool unallocated account is similar to a pool allocated account, withthe significant difference that the holding institution does not have tomaintain a sufficient amount of the physical commodity to cover 100% ofthe outstanding Claims and can use the physical commodity for its ownpurposes (e.g., selling or leasing the physical commodity). Thus, inaddition to having all of the disadvantages of pool allocated accounts,pool unallocated accounts can be considered to be fundamentally anunsecured liability of the institution that maintains the account, andaccount holders of such pool unallocated accounts cannot accurately bedescribed as owning a physical commodity and are exposed to substantialcounterparty credit and other risks.

While the accounts described above may offer advantages similar toowning a physical commodity, they have numerous disadvantages, such asthose described above. The most significant disadvantages include loftyminimum deposits (typically thousands and sometimes millions of dollars)and substantial barriers to transferability. Additionally, in mostjurisdictions there are significant differences between the governmentalregulations applicable to the trading of physical commodities andtrading of accounts, funds, or other interests in companies that ownphysical commodities (e.g., ETFs). In yet another example, there are insome jurisdictions different securities and tax regulations associatedwith marketing/owning/transferring non-physical and non-specificcommodity interests that are generally adverse to investors, as well asto dealers, marketers and other providers of such interests. Finally,owners of interests in pool accounts, especially pool unallocatedaccounts, are exposed to significant counterparty risks which do notapply to owners of physical commodities. For these and other reasons,there remains a need for an improved entity/mechanism/etc. for owningand/or trading strictly specific and physical commodities.

The present disclosure describes a system and method that addresses theissues described above, while combining the above mentioned advantagesof owning and trading physical commodities in their role to store valueand as a medium of exchange. Further, the system and method can enablethe use of a specific physical commodity (e.g., precious metal)—insteadof some institution's liability (accounts, deposit currencies, etc.)—asa unit of exchange for economic transactions. The techniques of thepresent disclosure can also offer the advantages of allocated accounts,as the physical commodity can be safely stored in a storage facility(e.g., a vault or the like) and does not have to be physicallytransported to settle a transaction. Additionally, the system and methodof the present disclosure also benefits from many of the safety andefficiency benefits of deposit currency without forcing users to cedethe benefits of physical commodity ownership.

The present disclosure achieves these goals through the use of allocatedcommodity segments, where specific portions of physical units of acommodity (e.g., specific segments of precious metal ingots or bars) areunambiguously allocated to specific users/investors. Each segment is atangible portion of a physical commodity unit that is identifiable anddistinct from all other such segments. Furthermore, while the segmentsmay be separately allocated to different users, the segments need not bephysically separated from each other, thereby rendering their associatedphysical unit(s) unaltered. Further details of the present disclosureare set forth below.

In order to simplify the description, certain terminology will beutilized with the present disclosure. Accordingly, a brief descriptionof such terminology may be beneficial to assist in understanding thepresent disclosure. It should be appreciated, however, that this briefdescription of terminology is meant merely to assist the reader and isnot intended to be limiting in anyway.

The term “dealer user” will be used to describe the entity that performscertain elements of the present disclosure related to obtaining, storingand/or assigning ownership of a physically commodity. The term “owneruser” will be used to describe the entity that owns one or more segmentsof a physical commodity that are held by, or in trust for, a dealeruser. The term “buying user” will be used to describe the entity that ispurchasing or otherwise obtaining ownership of one or more segments of aphysical commodity from the owner user.

It should be appreciated that these terms are merely labels, and aresomewhat amorphous. For example, in certain circumstances an individualperson may act as the described “dealer user,” while an actual dealer (acommodities trading firm, a dealer in coins or other collectibles, afinancial firm, etc.) may act as the “owner user” or “buying user”described. Additionally, one or more separate entities may act inconcert to act as a single “dealer user,” “owner user,” and/or “buyeruser” as described. Furthermore, in some situations an entity orentities may act as more than one of, or all three of, a “dealer user,”“owner user,” and/or “buyer user” as described, depending on thespecific activities analyzed by, and the perspective of, the viewer.

Referring now to FIG. 1, an example system 100 for trading distinct andidentifiable portions of a physical commodity according to someimplementations of the present disclosure is illustrated. Theillustrated system 100 includes a dealer user 120, an owner user 140,and a buyer user 160. Additionally, a physical commodity 125 isillustrated as being physically located in a vault 130, which may or notbe in the physical custody of the dealer user 120. The physicalcommodity 125 can take any form of tangible commodity that has economicvalue, e.g., a precious metal. The physical commodity 125 can be dividedinto one or more discrete physical units 125-1, 125-2, . . . 125-n.

As indicated by the dashed lines, various communications, instructions,financial instruments, physical commodities, etc. may be freelyexchanged between these entities. At least some of the elementsexchanged between these entities must be communicated, received, and/orgenerated by or with the assistance of one or more computing devices, asfurther described below. Accordingly, each particular entity of thedealer user 120, owner user 140, and buyer user 160 as illustrated inFIG. 1 can include at least one computing device associated with thatparticular entity. Furthermore, the dashed lines should be interpretedto include both direct exchanges between entities, as well as indirectexchanges between entities, such as electronic communications routedthrough intermediate entities and mechanisms (such as through one ormore server computing devices over a computer network, e.g., theInternet).

Referring now to FIG. 2, a functional block diagram of an examplecomputing device 200 is illustrated. The computing device 20 can includea communication device 210, a processor 230, and a memory 250. Thecommunication device 210 can include any suitable communicationcomponents (e.g., a transceiver) for communication with other computingdevices 270, directly and/or via a network 290. The processor 230 cancontrol operation of the computing device 200 and can implement at leasta portion of the elements of the described methods. The term “processor”as used herein can refer to both a single processor and multipleprocessors operating in a parallel or distributed architecture. Thememory 250 can be any suitable storage medium (flash, hard disk, etc.)for storing information at the computing device 200. The computingdevice 200 can receive communications and data from the other computingdevices 270. Further, although not illustrated in FIG. 2, the computingdevice can also receive inputs from entities (such as the described“dealer user,” “owner user,” and “buyer user”) through variousinterfaces.

As an initial matter, the physical commodity 125 is obtained by thedealer user 120, and stored in a secure vault 130 associated therewith.In some embodiments, storing the physical commodity 125 in a securevault 130 can include transferring the physical commodity 125 to a thirdparty vault owner. For example only, a dealer user 120 can obtainownership of the physical commodity 125 from a third party (e.g., a mineoperator, a refiner, a commodity trader, a financial firm, or evenanother dealer user), whereby the physical commodity 125 is physicallytransferred to the storage vault 130 of another third party. In somesituations, the same third party can be the transferor and the custodianof the storage vault 130, such that obtaining the physical commodity 125comprises obtaining ownership of the physical commodity 125 withoutactually physically transferring the physical commodity 125. In otherimplementations, obtaining the physical commodity 125 comprisesobtaining ownership of the physical commodity 125 where the physicalcommodity 125 is in the physical custody of a third party that is not aparty to the transaction.

Referring now to FIG. 3, an example image 300 of an example physicalunit 125-n of the physical commodity 125 is illustrated. The physicalunit 125-n is subdivided into a plurality of segments 310-1, 310-2, . .. 310-m (referred to herein individually and collectively as “segment(s)310”). Each of the segments 310 is a tangible portion of the physicalunit 125-n that is distinct and identifiable from all other segments310. The combination of all of the segments 310 together comprises thephysical unit 125-n. Further, the subdivision of the physical unit 300into the plurality of segments 310 is not a physical separation of thesegments 310, but instead a mapping of coordinates in athree-dimensional description or other representation of the physicalunit 125-n that describes each and every segment 310 while leaving thephysical unit 125-n unaltered.

In some implementations, segments 310 can be described/defined by one ormore segment planes 320-1, 320-2, . . . 320-p (referred to hereinindividually and collectively as “segment plane(s) 320”). A segment 310can be defined to be a portion of the physical unit 125-n between twosegment planes 320, or between a physical end 340 of the physical unit125-n and a segment plane 320. It should be appreciated that any mannerof defining segments 310 of a physical unit 125-n can be utilized withthe system and method of the present disclosure. In other examples, asegment 310 can be described as a portion of the physical unit 125-ndefined by a mathematical formula, and/or determined (specificallyincluding determining by estimating with a high-degree of accuracy) froma scan or other imaging technique.

In some implementations, the dealer user 120 can obtain an image of eachof the physical units 125 in the secure vault 130, e.g., from an imagingdevice such as a three-dimensional scanning device or other hardwarecomputing device. The term “image” as used herein with respect to “animage of each of the physical units 125” is intended to include not onlyan actual image (such as obtained from an imaging device, e.g., cameraor the like) of a physical unit 125, but also any representation of thephysical unit 125. From the obtained images, the dealer user 120 cangenerate, at a computing device such as computing device 200 describedabove, a representation 400 (see FIG. 4) for each of the plurality ofsegments 310. Each representation 400 can be associated with one 410 ofthe plurality of segments 310 and representative of its associatedsegments 410. It should be appreciated that, while FIG. 4 shows theoutline of the remainder of the physical unit 125-n in phantom outline(dashed lines), the representation 400 can, but does not necessarily,include a phantom outline as shown.

The generation of the representation 400 for each of the plurality ofsegments 310 can provide a number of benefits. For example, someindividuals (such as the owner user 140 and the buyer user 160) may feelmore comfortable and/or secure in the feeling of ownership of a segment310 of a physical unit 125-n of a physical commodity 125 when they canactually “see” their segment 310 separate and apart from the othersegments 310 in the physical unit 125-n. Such a “seeing-is-believing”may make the ownership of the segment 310 of the physical commodity 125more tangible and “real” to certain individuals, while not actuallyrequiring the physical separation of their segment 310 from othersegments 310 with its associated cost and difficulty. Additionally, therepresentation 400 may constitute evidence sufficient to prove to aregulatory/tax authority that an owner user 140 actually owns atangible, distinct, and identifiable portion of a physical commodity125, and not merely a partial interest in an undivided physicalcommodity 125. Thus, in some embodiments the dealer user 120 can output,utilizing a computing device (such as computing device 200) associatedwith the dealer user 120, the representation 400 associated with aparticular segment to at least one of the owner user 140 and the buyinguser 160.

Referring to FIG. 5, in order to track the ownership interests of users,the dealer user 120 may utilize a map 500 (an allocation table, anownership register, a ledger or collection of ledgers, or other recordof ownership) that subdivides each of the one or more physical units125-1, 125-2, . . . 125-n into a plurality of discrete, identifiablesegments 310. The map 500 can be stored in the memory 250 (such as adatabase) of a computing device 200 associated with the dealer user 120.Alternatively, the map 500 can be in the control of one or more thirdparty map operators, which can include the dealer user 120 and thirdparty map operators. These third party map operator(s) can act to assignownership of each of the plurality of segments in the map 500 based oninstructions received from the dealer user 120. In this manner, thedealer user 120 can utilize the map 500 by sending one or moreinstructions to the third party map operator(s) to assign ownership ofeach of the plurality of segments 310 in the map 500.

In the example map 500 illustrated in FIG. 5, there is a segmentdefinition portion 520, an ownership record portion 540, and a physicalunit identifier portion 560. The segment definition portion 520 caninclude information (such as a representation 400) sufficient todescribe one or more of the plurality of segments 310. The ownershiprecord portion 540 associates either directly via a description 545 orindirectly the owner user 140 to one or more segments 310 defined by thesegment definition portion 520. The physical unit identifier portion 560can include information sufficient to identify the physical unit 125associated with the segment 310, such as a serial number 565 or otheridentifying characteristic of the physical unit 125. It should beappreciated that the illustrated map 500 is one example, and other formsof the map 500 are within the scope of the present disclosure.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a flow diagram of an example method 600 fortransferring ownership of a segment 310 of a physical unit 125-1, 125-2,. . . 125-n of a physical commodity 125 in accordance with someimplementations of the present disclosure is illustrated. At 610, aphysical commodity 125 that is divided into one or more physical units125-1, 125-2, . . . 125-n can be obtained. At 620, the physicalcommodity 125 can be stored in a secure vault 130. A map 500 can beutilized at 630. The map 500 can subdivide each of the one or morephysical units 125-1, 125-2, . . . 125-n into a plurality of segments310, where each of the plurality of segments can be tangible portions ofthe physical unit that are distinct and identifiable. As describedabove, subdividing each of the one or more physical units 125-1, 125-2,. . . 125-n can render the physical units 125-1, 125-2, . . . 125-nunaltered. The map 500 can be utilized to assign ownership of each ofthe plurality of segments 310 to one or more owner users 140.

Furthermore, at 650, the method can also include receiving aninstruction to transfer ownership of a particular segment 310 of theplurality of segments 310 from a particular owner user 140 to a buyinguser 160. Upon receiving the instruction, the method 600 can includeassigning (at 660) in the map 500 ownership of the particular segment310 to the buying user 160.

Example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will bethorough, and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled inthe art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples ofspecific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thoroughunderstanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will beapparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not beemployed, that example embodiments may be embodied in many differentforms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of thedisclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known procedures,well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are notdescribed in detail.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularexample embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As usedherein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. The term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one ormore of the associated listed items. The terms “comprises,”“comprising,” “including,” and “having,” are inclusive and thereforespecify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations,elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence oraddition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations,elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The method steps,processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed asnecessarily requiring their performance in the particular orderdiscussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order ofperformance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternativesteps may be employed.

Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein todescribe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections,these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should notbe limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguishone element, component, region, layer or section from another region,layer or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numericalterms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearlyindicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region,layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element,component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachingsof the example embodiments.

The techniques described herein may be implemented by one or morecomputer programs executed by one or more processors. The computerprograms include processor-executable instructions that are stored on anon-transitory tangible computer readable medium. The computer programsmay also include stored data. Non-limiting examples of thenon-transitory tangible computer readable medium are nonvolatile memory,magnetic storage, and optical storage.

Some portions of the above description present the techniques describedherein in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operationson information. These algorithmic descriptions and representations arethe means used by those skilled in the data processing arts to mosteffectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in theart. These operations, while described functionally or logically, areunderstood to be implemented by computer programs. Furthermore, it hasalso proven convenient at times to refer to these arrangements ofoperations as modules or by functional names, without loss ofgenerality.

Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the abovediscussion, it is appreciated that throughout the description,discussions utilizing terms such as “processing” or “computing” or“calculating” or “determining” or “displaying” or the like, refer to theaction and processes of a computer system, or similar electroniccomputing device, that manipulates and transforms data represented asphysical (electronic) quantities within the computer system memories orregisters or other such information storage, transmission or displaydevices.

Certain aspects of the described techniques include process steps andinstructions described herein in the form of an algorithm. It should benoted that the described process steps and instructions could beembodied in software, firmware or hardware, and when embodied insoftware, could be downloaded to reside on and be operated fromdifferent platforms used by real time network operating systems.

The present disclosure also relates to an apparatus for performing theoperations herein. This apparatus may be specially constructed for therequired purposes, or it may comprise a general-purpose computerselectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored on acomputer readable medium that can be accessed by the computer. Such acomputer program may be stored in a tangible computer readable storagemedium, such as, but is not limited to, any type of disk includingfloppy disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs, magnetic-optical disks, read-onlymemories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs), EPROMs, EEPROMs,magnetic or optical cards, application specific integrated circuits(ASICs), or any type of media suitable for storing electronicinstructions, and each coupled to a computer system bus. Furthermore,the computers referred to in the specification may include a singleprocessor or may be architectures employing multiple processor designsfor increased computing capability.

The algorithms and operations presented herein are not inherentlyrelated to any particular computer or other apparatus. Variousgeneral-purpose systems may also be used with programs in accordancewith the teachings herein, or it may prove convenient to construct morespecialized apparatuses to perform the required method steps. Therequired structure for a variety of these systems will be apparent tothose of skill in the art, along with equivalent variations. Inaddition, the present disclosure is not described with reference to anyparticular programming language. It is appreciated that a variety ofprogramming languages may be used to implement the teachings of thepresent disclosure as described herein, and any references to specificlanguages are provided for disclosure of enablement and best mode of thepresent invention.

The present disclosure is well suited to a wide variety of computernetwork systems over numerous topologies. Within this field, theconfiguration and management of large networks comprise storage devicesand computers that are communicatively coupled to dissimilar computersand storage devices over a network, such as the Internet.

The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided forpurposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or featuresof a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particularembodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be usedin a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described.The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to beregarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modificationsare intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: obtaining a physicalcommodity that is divided into one or more physical units; storing thephysical commodity in a secure vault; utilizing a map that subdivideseach of the one or more physical units into a plurality of segments,each of the plurality of segments being tangible portions of thephysical unit that are distinct and identifiable, wherein subdividingeach of the one or more physical units renders the physical unitsunaltered, and wherein the map is utilized to assign ownership of theplurality of segments to one or more owner users; receiving aninstruction to transfer ownership of a particular segment of theplurality of segments from a particular owner user to a buying user; andassigning in the map ownership of the particular segment to the buyinguser.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein storing the physical commodityin the secure vault comprises transferring the physical commodity to athird party vault owner.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining thephysical commodity comprises obtaining ownership of the physicalcommodity, the physical commodity being in physical custody of a thirdparty.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: obtaining, at acomputing device having one or more processors, an image of each of thephysical units; and generating, at the computing device, arepresentation for each of the plurality of segments based on theobtained image of the physical units, each representation being: (i)associated with one of the plurality of segments, and (ii)representative of its associated segment.
 5. The method of claim 4,further comprising outputting, from the computing device, thethree-dimensional image associated with the particular segment to atleast one of the particular owner user and the buying user.
 6. Themethod of claim 4, wherein the image of each of the physical units isobtained from a three-dimensional scanning device.
 7. The method ofclaim 4, wherein the image of each of the physical units is obtainedfrom another computing device.
 8. The method of claim 4, wherein therepresentation of each particular physical unit is generated based onunique characteristics of the physical unit, the unique characteristicsincluding one or more of a physical refinery or mint stamp, a shape ofthe physical unit, a size of the physical unit, and a serial numberassociated with the physical unit.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein thephysical commodity is a precious metal.
 10. The method of claim 9,wherein the physical units comprise at least one of bars, ingots, andcoins.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the map comprises informationsufficient to define at least one of the plurality of segments, andinformation sufficient to identify ownership of at least one of theplurality of segments.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining thephysical commodity comprises requesting a third party to obtainownership of the physical commodity.
 13. The method of claim 1, whereinutilizing the map comprises sending an instruction to one or more thirdparty map operators that assign ownership of at least one of theplurality of segments in the map.
 14. A computing device, comprising:one or more processors; and a non-transitory, computer readable mediumstoring instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors,cause the computing device to perform operations comprising: utilizing amap that subdivides each of one or more physical units of a physicalcommodity into a plurality of segments, each of the plurality ofsegments being tangible portions of the physical unit that are distinctand identifiable, wherein subdividing each of the one or more physicalunits renders the physical units unaltered, and wherein the map isutilized to assign ownership of the plurality of segments to one or moreowner users, receiving an instruction to transfer ownership of aparticular segment of the plurality of segments from a particular owneruser to a buying user, and assigning in the map ownership of theparticular segment to the buying user.
 15. The computing device of claim14, wherein the operations further comprise: obtaining an image of eachof the physical units; and generating a representation for each of theplurality of segments based on the obtained image of the physical units,each three-dimensional image being: (i) associated with one of theplurality of segments, and (ii) representative of its associatedsegment.
 16. The computing device of claim 15, wherein the operationsfurther comprise: outputting the representation associated with theparticular segment to at least one of the particular owner user and thebuying user.
 17. The computing device of claim 15, wherein the image ofeach of the physical units is obtained from a three-dimensional scanningdevice.
 18. The computing device of claim 15, wherein the image of eachof the physical units is obtained from another computing device.
 19. Thecomputing device of claim 14, wherein the physical commodity is aprecious metal.
 20. The computing device of claim 19, wherein thephysical units comprise at least one of bars, ingots, and coins.
 21. Thecomputing device of claim 14, wherein the map comprises informationsufficient to define at least one of the plurality of segments, andinformation sufficient to identify ownership of at least one of theplurality of segments.
 22. The computing device of claim 14, whereinutilizing the map comprises sending an instruction to one or more thirdparty map operators that assign ownership of at least one of theplurality of segments in the map.